Analysis: new NBC deal with Netflix adds to confusing list of TV offerings

NBC has announced a new deal with Netflix that lets subscribers stream current …

NBC has announced yet another plan to offer its TV content online, this time through movie rental service Netflix. Netflix subscribers will now be able to stream current episodes of NBC's Heroes online through their PCs the day after network airing, in addition to episodes from prior seasons of other popular NBC shows.

"We are excited to establish Netflix as a part of our off-network syndication strategy for 'Heroes,'" NBC Universal executive VP Frances Manfredi said in a statement. "This deal reflects the changing landscape of the entertainment marketplace and our objective of finding new buyers that complement our traditional customers."

The deal adds Netflix to the laundry list of digital distribution initiatives that NBC has undertaken this year after the network's messy divorce from the iTunes Store. Instead of continuing down the simple path of offering past and current shows for the once-outrageous (but now widely accepted) $1.99 per episode that gives users some (limited) freedoms, NBC is sure it can do better on its own by launching new ideas more often than our readers upgrade their computers.

NBC to Netflix: Let us introduce you to
our digital distribution bedpost

First, NBC offered ad-supported, streaming episodes of its current shows through NBC.com (this was available before NBC's departure from the iTunes Store). These are relegated to the Web, and only select shows are available. Then, after the fallout with Apple, NBC signed on with Amazon's Unbox to offer complete seasons of past shows through the heavily-DRMed service.

The network soon launched a private beta of its long-anticipated video distribution site, Hulu, which offers full seasons of old shows in addition to current episodes of a handful of new shows. Hulu's ad-supported content is also limited to the Web, and current episodes expire after a certain period of time, but these limitations are nothing compared to those of NBC Direct. Also launched as a "beta" (alpha would be more appropriate), the service offers current episodes of six popular NBC shows with a plethora of restrictions. The shows require Windows, Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, a proprietary NBC video client, an Internet connection, and renewable licenses that expire every 48 hours. Needless to say, none of these options are exactly ideal, with NBC Direct being just downright bad.

Why NBC continues to make valiant efforts to dilute the strength of its brand by launching all of these services is a little beyond us. Focusing efforts on a single service that kicks ass does a lot more good than making things available through every outlet imaginable, all with different content and restrictions that only serve to confuse users. I can only get Heroes through Netflix, which I can stream to my PC with a subscription, but I can download full episodes of The Office through NBC Direct (as long as I watch it within 48 hours of download)? I can embed ad-supported episodes of Chuck on my blog from Hulu before they go offline, and watch old seasons of 30 Rock through Amazon Unbox? Few people can keep track of all these options, and the general public most certainly can't.

Jacqui Cheng
Jacqui is an Editor at Large at Ars Technica, where she has spent the last eight years writing about Apple culture, gadgets, social networking, privacy, and more. Emailjacqui@arstechnica.com//Twitter@eJacqui